Council mulls membership rules for appointed boards

FRANKLIN - Members of the Town Council debated this week whether the town's elected officials should be allowed to serve on appointed boards.

The matter came up at the council meeting on Wednesday, when a measure updating the bylaw regarding the Library Board of Directors arose. Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said the change was to update rules first passed in the 1990s.

Council Chairman Matthew Kelly, though, noted that the bylaw prevented elected officials from sitting on the board. He asked why, adding that he believed council participation on such boards would help town organizations adhere to the master plan.

Nutting said the library had been running smooth before without council members on its board.

"Councilors can go to any public meeting and comment, like anyone else," he said. "Independent voices are a good thing."

The council, Nutting said, had ultimate say on the activities of town departments.

"At the end of the day, the council controls the budget, it ratifies the appointment of the library director and it approves the capital improvement plan," he said. "That's a lot of oversight."

Kelly, though, said that the membership of appointed boards could ossify after a while. He noted that the council had reviewed appointments earlier in the meeting, and many members had been on their boards for years. Some boards, he added, had vacancies that need to be filled.

"I don't want to rule out somebody who's qualified, just because they're elected," he said.

Councilor Andrew Bissanti said having council members on the committees could help get the word out about their activities.

"Candidly, I don't think we hear from all these boards all the time," he said. "I think the public would be interested in what goes on with them."

Town Attorney Mark Cerel noted that the library board was purely an advisory body.

Kelly suggested councilors provide feedback on the matter to Nutting's office over the next couple of weeks, adding that a change to the bylaw could be considered at its second reading. The council unanimously approved a first reading of the bylaw that night.

Mike Gleason can be reached at 508-634-7546 or mgleason@wickedlocal.com. For news throughout the day, follow him on Twitter @MGleason_MDN.